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“Grab your legs, Michelle. That’s right. Good girl. Deep breath in and hold it for ten. Now push. Ten, nine, eight, keep pushing. Seven, six, push, Michelle, push.”
“I can’t,” she said, the breath rushing out of her. “I can’t.”
“You can. You’re doing great.” He leaned in, supported her back, swept the damp hair back from her cheek. “How can I help?”
“I don’t know.” Her sobbing morphed into a guttural groan as another contraction hit.
He looked down at the nurse, doctor, midwife—whatever she was. “What should I do?”
“Help hold her legs so she can focus on pushing.”
Damn, he really would’ve preferred feeding her ice chips or dabbing her forehead with a cool cloth, like men in the movies always did.
“Come on, Michelle, let’s make this one count.” The woman settled in between Michelle’s thighs. “Baby’s head is right there. Some good pushing and you’ll be all done.”
“Okay, I’ll try.” Fatigue and fear laced the voice he’d all but forgotten. She deserved better.
He took position behind Michelle and looped his arm under her left hamstring. “I’ve got this leg. You grab the other one, then lean on me. Let me hold you up.”
“Okay,” she said, following his instructions.
“It’s baby time, Michelle,” the doc said. “Are you ready to push?”
She nodded, took a big breath, tucked her chin down and pushed.
“You’re doing great. Keep pushing, keep pushing. I can see the ears, Michelle, keep pushing. Come on, push, push, push, push.”
Pressed in tight behind her, he could feel every muscle in her body tighten. Tremors wracked the bare leg he held. Her face was the reddest he’d ever seen on a real person. The sheer will in her clenched features was one of the strongest, most impressive things he’d witnessed in his life.
“Baby’s ears are out, Michelle, keep pushing.”
Now he had to see. Had to watch. He leaned forward as much as possible, peering over Michelle’s shoulder just in time to see a tiny headful of dark hair fill the physician’s hands. Holy goddamn.
“The head’s out, Michelle.” Excitement bloomed on the physician’s face as she looked up at Michelle. “One more good push, that’s all we need.”
Panting as she drew another breath, Michelle nodded. This woman he barely knew, despite having known intimately, bore down and pushed with everything she had.
He held his breath along with her. Couldn’t have looked away if somebody had offered him a million bucks. The baby’s shoulders. The back. The world’s tiniest bum. Legs and feet. Two small rows of Tic Tac-sized toes. Covered in goo and red all over, the baby was out.
A quick rubdown and pat on the back later, the baby’s cries filled the room.
“Is everything okay?” Michelle asked, staring at him, rather than the baby.
“I think so. Everything I can see looks right to me.”
“Congratulations, you have a little girl. We’re just going to clean her up, weigh and measure her.”
We? He hadn’t even noticed the other woman in the room. Had no idea which one was a doctor or a nurse. Didn’t matter, as long as they took care of the baby.
The baby. His or not his? Didn’t matter right now. All he wanted to do was hold her. Count her fingers and toes. Kiss her little head and rock her until she stopped crying and fell asleep in his arms. Must be the uncle instinct kicking in. He didn’t dislike kids, he’d just never wanted any of his own.
“Sam,” Michelle said, pulling his attention from the baby. “We need to talk.”
“Yeah. Yeah, we do.”
“She’s your daughter.”
“Maybe.”
